French weekend weather forecast July 19 - 20: Temperatures peak before violent storms

Temperatures in France will reach their highest point of the week on Friday before storms cover three-quarters of the country over the weekend. 

Only the Mediterranean coast and Corsica are expected to remain free of rain in the coming days.

Friday July 18 

Temperatures have been climbing throughout the week and will reach their highest point on Friday afternoon. 

Peaking at 36C in the south-east and up to 34C around Paris, most of the country will see highs of around 30C.

However, in Brittany and along the western coast, grey skies and showers mean highs of 25C are likely. 

Conditions will remain calm for most of the day – if rather muggy – with storms expected to begin at the start of the evening.

They will hit Normandy, Brittany, and the Pays de la Loire and are also likely to impact the south-west. 

The storms will move inwards overnight before heading towards the eastern borders. 

Currently, state forecaster Météo France is placing the northern departments of Calvados, Ille-et-Vilaine and Manche on a heightened tier-three warning for heavy rain/flash flooding from 22:00 onwards. 

These warnings may be updated as knowledge of the storms progresses, you can keep up to date with official forecasts on the Météo France website. 

Saturday July 19 

Storms will continue to move inland, covering France from the western coast to the German border and Alps.

Heightened weather warnings are set to end at around 06:00, but lower tier-two yellow alerts will be in place in around three-quarters of departments for most of the day.

Areas that saw the brunt of the stormy weather on Friday night will be mostly clear on Saturday, particularly from midday onwards, with clear skies and little risk of rain.

Storms are expected to be most powerful in the south-west, Pyrénées, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. In these areas, hail is possible, especially around Lyon. 

They will mostly die down in the evening, although pockets could continue in the north and near Germany into the night.

The Mediterranean coast should avoid any stormy conditions, and remain warm – albeit cloudy – with temperatures above 30C expected to continue. 

Under the storms temperatures will drop, with highs of around 25C.

Sunday July 20 

The risk of thunderstorms will remain high in a line stretching from Perpignan to the German border, covering the Rhône Valley and Massif Central.

Storms may become violent, particularly along the east. Official weather alerts for the day will be available from the state forecaster by Saturday morning.

To the west of this line, intermittent showers are possible throughout the day, although the risk of stormy weather is low. 

Again, the south-east is the only area of mainland France facing little threat. 

Temperatures will drop by around 2C or 3C in north and central France where highs of around 22C are likely. 

In the south, highs of 30C are likely. 

Early forecasts for next week see a rather wet week in store for most of the country, and further storms in the south.